The Art of Self-Mastery

By: Ann Beatriz Madid

          “You struggle with your demons and you conquer them.” That is a quote from Kinky Friedman. How genuine is this? And how valuable is its message? In this world, where everything bad is inevitable, how can we reach our goals if we can’t control the world itself? Maybe the world isn’t the one to be controlled. Rather, it is ourselves that need to be taken authority of. Like the wheel in a car, we drive to reach our intended destinations. The engine of the car is our roots, our real character and our soul. It is the one that could either push us to reach our goal or pull us back to our unchallenged world. The car itself is our body. It is our responsibility to design it. Just as how we project ourselves in front of everyone. Are we presentable? Are we unorganized? And last, the wheel is how we take control of ourselves. It answers the questions of what, how and why. What do we do to reach our goals? Why do we even have goals in the first place?

            We could even struggle to a time where everything is in doubt and nothing could just make anymore sense. Who is the one whispering in our minds and tells us that it’s pointless and we couldn’t do anything? Who drags us down and tells us that we’re not good enough? Is it the       people or is it the critics?” No, it is we. It is ourselves that would want to be dragged down by the water. Or it is us who defies gravity. The opinion of others doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, the choice is still left for us to make. Not theirs not on anyone’s. Are we just going to let these people dominate over us? Aren’t we sick of people telling us what to do? Telling us what to be and who we are?  It’s time to stop this stereotypical mess we’re trapping ourselves into.

            We don’t have to be legends or masters to conquer ourselves and get the best out of life. We just have to be aware of what we’re capable of and aspire enough because our goals and dreams are what give us purposes in life. No one could design our lives but us. And somehow, that is the key to self- mastery.